Sikh Council UK is calling all UK Sikhs , Sunday 27th March 2011.Officially, Nobody knows exactly how many Sikhs there are in UK?

SIKHS – make it Count

The census comes around once every 10 years and it is one of the most important measurements in British society and as Sikhs, we need to make our voices heard.The Census data is used by the Government and related bodies to prioritise their funding allocation and planning for services. We have this one opportunity in March 2011 to ensure that the accurate monitoring of the Sikhs as an ethnic minority takes place.

This will help us to identify some of the issues in our community,How many Sikhs are unemployed?How many Sikhs need homecare services?How many Sikhs have disabilities?How many Sikhs work for your local authority?Data that can support the case for Sikh schools….

In order to get accurate data on the Sikhs, It is essential that every Sikh states their ethnic origin as Sikh on the census form. This is done by ticking the ‘other’ category in Section E of Question 16, and stating their ethnic origin by writing the word ‘Sikh’.

If you do not do this, then the data that is produced will not be useful to accurately plan for the needs of the Sikh community supported by the Government funding. The monitoring in the Public sector is done on the basis of gender, disability, national origin etc. Religious affiliation is rarely monitored.

Let’s be counted and not wait another decade for our voices to be heard.